The present invention disclosed herein relates to an optical communication system and a manufacturing system of the same, and more particularly, to a multi-channel optical module and a manufacturing method of the same that enable multi-channel light transmission and light reception for data transmission.
Recently, an active optical cable (AOC) such as a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Display Port, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI), etc., needs four or more channels that may collect four or more wavelengths in an optical fiber so as to transmit A/V data.
Moreover, an electrical connection reveals a limit in a coupling system such as general chip to chip, board to board, board to system, and system to system and thus a demand for a multi-channel optical module for transmitting massive data so as to replace it continues to increase.
A general multi-channel optical module may include a fiber block to which many precise molding products having special shapes and guide pins are attached. In the case of the molding products, a lot of time and costs are consumed for accurate tolerance control in relevant processes, and in particular, if a single mode fiber of which a core size is about 8 um is used, there is a limitation in that the final tolerance between the fiber and an optical device needs to be controlled to be within several micrometers.
Another multi-channel optical module has a structure in which an optical device array block having a lens module that includes a mirror for converting an optical path by 90 degrees is optically coupled to optical fiber arrays. The alignment process between the optical fiber and the mirror, the mirror and the lens, or the lens and the optical device is necessarily required. Thus, the general multi-channel optical module has limitations in that the optical coupling efficiency between the final optical fiber and the optical device is not good, and many parts such as a mirror, a lens, a support tool, and a spacer for securing a space for optical coupling are used.
Another multi-channel optical module may include a fiber array block that includes guide holes and guide pins on a silicon wafer. When an optical device is passively connected to an optical fiber, a through hole needs to be formed in the correct position on a silicon wafer. The multi-channel optical module has drawbacks that it is very difficult to manufacture guide pins and a fiber array block including the guide pins and reliability is low because a crack may appear on a silicon mount due to contact with the guide pins. Moreover, the multi-channel optical module has a drawback that electrical performance decreases due to electrical crosstalk between electrical contacts of adjacent channels, which becomes more serious as a transmission rate increases.